Desperately seeking advice

[Leah72]

I have a 16 year old son who was diagnosed two years ago. Up until now all has been well, blood count at check ups have been 5.7,5.9 and last appointment 9.7. however it appears over the last three months his bloods are gone really high, in 20's etc doesn't appear to have been checking ketones either, couple of readings simply said HI.
Have tried to speak with him we think he is not taking his insulin and possibly someone has told him it will cause fat deposits around injection sites. He is very conscious about his looks.
We can't cut carbs from his diet as he needs the energy for sports, he plays daily. He will not listen to our concerns, I am well aware of the implications of Diabeties as I had a friend who died from complications at 34. Anyone have any advice? not sure where to turn.

 

[Northerner]

Hi Leah72, welcome to the forum 🙂 Very sorry to hear that your son does not appear to be taking care of his diabetes What sort of insulin regime is he on? There can be problems long term if you don't rotate your injection sites regularly, but this is due to scar tissue, and if you do vary your sites then there should be no problems at all. I have been diagnosed just over 5 years and have no problems, nor do many of our members who have been diagnosed for decades.

If he is concerned about his appearance, then running high blood sugar levels will unfortunately do nothing for him in that respect - I am sure you are aware of the possible long term complications, but just simple things like more infections, greater likelihood of boils or abscesses, sallow skin, possible hair loss, bad breath, problems with gums and teeth - all these can become problems that are hard to hide or disguise. Far better, to spend just those few minutes a day testing, carb counting and injecting than to subject yourself to the poor moods and all these potential woes, including feeling guilty because he knows he should be taking better care.

As far as sport is concerned, if he does not maintain good blood sugar levels then he will not be able to perform to the best of his abilities, so he handicapping himself and will fall short of what he could achieve.

I'm sorry if all this sounds very harsh, but he may not have considered all these possibilities.

We do have other parents and members who have encountered similar problems, so hopefully they will be able to give you the benefit of their experience.

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Welcome to the forum Leah

Sorry to hear your son is going through a difficult time - teen years are notorious for extra challenges with D.

Would it be possible to talk to your son about what is happening, what he has heard and whether he is missing any doses without things flaring up into a bit row?

As for carbs... There is no point in feeding them if he is skipping insulin because he will have no method of absorbing the energy in it. The glucose will just sit in his bloodstream making him feel grumpy and wreaking havoc. Much better to feed protein and fat (which the body will convert to glucose in the absence of carbs) I would have thought. Additionally, I have been advised not to exercise at higher levels (above 14).

Is he still taking his background (basal) insulin OK? If he keeps rotating his sites properly there should be no problem of fat deposits (I've managed for 20 odd years so far!)

Hope you manage to find a way to talk things through.

 

[Copepod]

Working on the assumption that his passion is sport, then he might find it helpful to look through various pages of www.runsweet.com to see real stories from real people with type 1 diabetes who participate in a huge range of sports.

 

[Redkite]

Hi Leah and welcome to the forum. My son is 12 so I haven't had to live through the teenage years yet, also he was diagnosed aged 4 so has grown up with it in a way. Has your son opened up about why his levels have been running so high? What could have changed to make him go from really tight control to just letting things slip. Is it fear of hypos (has he had a bad one?) or have other kids been making comments? Never underestimate how important it is for teenagers to "fit in" with their peers. Is his clinic team supportive, and if so, can they suggest ways to help your son? I hope this is a blip, perhaps seeing his a1c go up so sharply will shake him up and make him take more care of himself.

Having admitted I have no teen parenting experience, what I would try (after trying to find out about any underlying anxieties) is a combination of consequences and rewards for him doing an agreed minimum of BG tests in a day, and taking his insulin and recording the doses. Not doing these things would mean losing computer time, phone etc. Complying would be rewarded in some way - maybe saving up for driving lessons.

 

[Caroline]

having experienced stroppy teenagers I know they can be difficult even without diabetes.

Sometimes our children (especially teens who are almost adults) are reluctant to listen to us as we are seen as nagging parents and are more willing to listen to others. If your son is still in full time education and there is a school or college consellor perhaps they would be willing to help? It is sometimes difficult to help with interfeering and withthe teenage thing where image is so important and wantimng to fit in withtheir peers it is more difficult.